Berklee at CMJ Music Marathon
John Engle '10 of Liptease got the crowd dancing to the group's infectious electro-pop beats.
Photo by Tony Brown
Michel Heyaca '10, student Tom Manning, and John Engle '10 of Liptease.
Photo by Tony Brown
Student multi-instrumentalist Julia Easterlin looped her own vocals to create original songs track by track. Her set also included a sultry Bjork cover.
Photo by Tony Brown
Julia Easterlin
Photo by Tony Brown
Andrew Bayardi '08 of the Honors impressed the crowd with his guitar chops on the band's high-energy, distorted indie rock.
Photo by Tony Brown
Brandon Heisler of the Honors
Photo by Tony Brown
Mack Price '03, Evan Smith, Dan Brantigan '02, and Matthew Silberman are only half of the Prigs. The band filled the entire stage and then some, playing their high-octane blend of punk, power rock, and '80's synth pop, complete with horn section.
Photo by Tony Brown
Pete Lalish '05 and Mack Price '03 of the Prigs.
Photo by Tony Brown
The Prigs form their own mosh pit on stage.
Photo by Tony Brown
Andrea Setaro '07 hosted the festivities, introducing the bands and handling raffles for a free Berkleemusic online course and CMJ Music Marathon badges.
Photo by Tony Brown
Keith McEachern '05 and Brent Battey '03 of the Wandas led the audience in a rousing sing-a-long of their song, "New Wave Blues," to close the set.
Photo by Tony Brown
William Bierce and Keith McEachern '05 of the Wandas.
Photo by Tony Brown
Kevin Plessner '03 and Berkleemusic student of Oceanographer. The group's dreamy, shoegazer melodies washed over the audience in a feel-good wave.
Photo by Tony Brown
Eric Elterman and Kevin Plessner '03 of Oceanographer.
Photo by Tony Brown
Berklee, Heavy Rotation Records (HRR), and Berkleemusic.com hosted their fourth official showcase at the CMJ Music Marathon, New York's largest music festival. Mixing and mingling to the sounds of six up-and-coming acts featuring Berklee alumni and students, the crowd got a varied sampling of different music styles coming out of Berklee, from the electro-pop of Liptease, the Honors' self-described "cave wave," and the jazzy vocals of Julia Easterlin, to shoegazer pop from Oceanographer, raucous, earnest rock from the Wandas, and '80s pop meets prog from the Prigs.
Berklee presented a nighttime showcase for the first time, a move that proved to be highly successful. Facing stiff competition from hundreds of bands from around the world playing official and unofficial showcases that Friday night, the bands held their own, packing the club with alumni, students, fans, and CMJ festival-goers. The audience at the Bowery Poetry Club numbered more than 200 people, with many hundreds more tuning in to a live webcast of the event.
Fans didn't leave empty-handed; both the Wandas and the Honors were swarmed by audience members for copies of their latest CDs, and 150 copies of HRR's Dorm Sessions 7 CD were handed out to patrons wanting to hear more of Liptease and Easterlin, who are featured on the CD.
Click the image to see photos from the event and check out Berklee-Blogs for a band-by-band recap, interviews with each artist, and performance videos from the show.